May was the world's second-hottest on record, EU scientists say

BRUSSELS — The world experienced its second-hottest May on record, driven by human-caused climate change and a developing El Niño weather pattern that pushed average land and sea temperatures higher, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Wednesday.

The hottest May on record was in 2024, according to data dating back to 1940. Last month’s global average temperature was 1.42 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels recorded in the 19th century.

Western Europe also experienced one of its most severe early-season heatwaves on record. C3S said the extreme heat across the region aligns with scientific expectations that climate change will have a pronounced impact on Europe, the fastest-warming continent in the world.

Sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean also reached unusually high levels as conditions shift toward El Niño development. The warming pattern is expected to form in the coming months and could intensify extreme weather events globally.

El Niño occurs naturally every two to seven years when weakening trade winds allow warmer waters to spread across the eastern Pacific Ocean. This typically raises global temperatures and disrupts rainfall patterns, leading to drought in some regions and heavy rainfall in others.

Extreme weather events last month included deadly floods in China and Turkey, underscoring the broad impacts of shifting climate conditions.

-Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Kevin Liffey/Reuters